The present invention generally relates to cameras, and more particularly, to notifying a user when their camera is focusing on a restricted site.
Recent advances in technology are such that portable cameras are becoming increasingly common. When a user is capturing a photo or video with their camera, the camera captures a wider viewing area for the visible surroundings as well as audio from the captured location. There are many situations and locations, such as business premises, museums, cinemas, private property, etc., where use of cameras is necessarily restricted or prohibited.
In the past, such restriction and/or prohibition has been attempted to be achieved by displaying signs indicating the restriction or prohibition on photography in a specified location, and relying on individuals to adhere to such instructions. With the printed sign method, the user must deduce from signs that the capture of video, images, or audio for a given location is restricted. This includes understanding of exact locations that are allowed as well as restricted, which is difficult to know with accuracy.
With the integration of cameras and computer devices, location based disabling has also become an option for imposing restrictions of photography. In some cases, a location of the camera is determined, e.g., by global positioning system (GPS), and the camera is automatically disabled when the camera location is within a restricted location. However, these systems are based on a location of the camera itself, and not a location of an area that is in a field of view of the camera.